Hi guys, I know youve probably went over this many times but i cant seem to find a good thread on it. So i bought a 1975 Ford F100. The exaust manifold gaskets are gone. I tried loosening the bolts and broke a couple. So i pulled the motor for easy access to heat the manifolds. The number tag on the drivers door has the same numbers as the dashboard. After decoding, It says the truck came originally with a 360 2barrel motor. The motor has a 4 barrel intake with a 4b holley carb. Anyone could have changed the intake. Is there any way i can verify that #1 its a 360 2v motor. And #2 Its the original motor that came with the truck? Are there any numbers i can look up and if so where are they located at???? Thx.

 

What numbers on the dashboard? There are no Factory Vin numbers on the dashboard. You have the door, warranty sticker on door jamb and the passenger side frame rail.

Occasionally you may find little buck tags on the firewall, but that is rare.

As for the engine, your only choice is the pull #1 and #4 spark plugs, bring #1 to TDC and measure stroke. Use a rod or dowel and insert into spark plug hole and make a mark at the threads and then drop the dowel into #4 and make another mark and then measure the distance.

3.5" is a 360
3.75 (3.78 actual) is a 390

If you're lucky you may have the following:
Around 4" (3.98 actual) either a Mercury 410 or 428.

But since you pulled the engine, remove the flywheel/flexplate and look at the rear flange. A "half-moon" cut-out is a dead ringer for a 360 (or a 352 which I doubt you have)

Josh

 

My truck still has that tag on the firewall...
FEs are great engines,352s didn't come in these trucks.(352s are common in the 61-66s trucks)
But you never know,someone could have swapped in anything in these trucks with 30+ years of ownership,ya never know...

BTW: 35s,360,390 are all FEs and have the same block,just different Bore and Stroke.

 

Okay so i went outside pulled 1&4 plugs. I turned the Balancer to where the pointer was at 0.00 on the block. I dropped a rod into 1 and 4 and it measured approx 3.75 + .025. So i guess i have a 390. Will any 390 motor seal kit work, or does the year the motor is manufactured change things? I want to replace the pan, valve cover, head, and water pump gaskets. I might even change the timing chain. Another question can a 390 perform well with a 2 barrel carb. Im going to use this truck to haul wood. Is a 390 a rare motor or is it a common Ford engine?

 

I wouldn't call a 390 rare. They are very good engines,you could run a 390 on a 2-barrel carb...390s are actually pretty common. Most 352s & 360s "magicly" become 390s when the truck is for sale. If you can get a nice 4-barrel carb,put that on,if ya can't,the 2-barrel should work... In fact (or so I've been told) you could get a 390 with a 2-barrel in these trucks...

 

A 390 is very common for an FE engine.

An Autolite 2 barrel is fine, but you mentioned it had a 4 barrel. Depending on exactly what 4 barrel it is will determine if that particular carb is better or worse than the 2 barrel.

Any FE gasket kit will work. Just don't go extremely cheap on the kit, stick to Fel-Pro or Victor and if you are replacing the head gaskets buy the Ford Motorsport head gaskets, they are the same as Fel-Pro and half the price.

Josh

 

(sigh) No 352's installed in F Series trucks prior to 1965. The only V8 available on 1961/64 F100/350's is the 292 2V.

352: 1965/67 F100/350 // 360/390: 1968/76 360/390 / No 390's were factory installed in 1968/76 4WD's.

There is more than one block: 1965/67 352 // 1968/72 360/390 // 1973/76 360/390.

1968/76 360/390: The bore is the same, the stroke is not. Stroke: 352/360: 3.50" / 390 = 3.78"

ALL V8's were optional. Standard engines: 1961/64 F100/350: 223 I-6 // 1965/74 F100/350: 240 I-6 // 1975/79 F100/350: 300 I-6.
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Ford did not factory install exhaust manifold gaskets on any FE engine except on 1962/63 406's and 1963/68 427's.

Ford factory installed steel heat shields on FE's beginning in 1961. The type used in 1973/76 is not the same as 1961/1972.

By order of the NHTSA, all automakers passenger cars circa 1968 (thru today) have the VIN on a plate (refered to as a VIN Plate) on the drivers corner of the dash, visible thru the windshield.

I cannot recall when trucks have this feature, but all of them do beginning around this same time.

btw: Thru the late 1980's, there is really no way to tell if the engine (regardless of the size) is original to the vehicle or not. Back then, numbers matching was a GM thing .

 

Thx guys, I think i have enough info to do what i need to. Hey one more question real quick. When i pull the heads off. Are the rocker arm self adjusting or do i have to start the motor and adjust them by ear?

 

It's a rocker arm shaft and you should have hydraulic lifters, so no adjustment needed HOWEVER!

DO NOT mix up the order of the pushrods! For a non-adjustable shaft set-up a person can actually install .060 longer or shorter pushrods to take up variances in slack. SO again DO NOT mix up the order of the pushrods.

Josh

 

So after work today i started dismantling the 390 motor for new gaskets etc... I took off the valve covers and wrote down the head numbers (D2TEAA) Does anyone have any info on these? The real shocker was when i started numbering the rods to replace them in the same order. The rod closest to the front of the engine on the 6th cylinder has about .250 in. of movement up and down before i even unbolted the bar. The spring looks solid...bad lifter maybe??

 

FE hydraulic lifters are extremely hard (no pun intended) to compress after they have been pumped up with oil.

Sounds like the rod bearing is toast. Is the big end of the rod all "BLUE"?

D2TE-AA cylinder are very good heads for a budget build. If you are having them reconditioned look into installing CJ valves with a mild pocket port.

Josh

 

"Sounds like the rod bearing is toast. Is the big end of the rod all "BLUE"?"


The push rod looks ok.
Can you direct me to the bearing that your refering to.
Do you mean the cam lobe???

 

Rod bearing as the one that goes between the crank and big end of the connecting rod.

 

ok hmm. when i refered to 1/4 inch of play in the rod...i meant the push rod that goes to the rocker arm. Not the piston rod.

 

my guess would be that the cam is bad. or the lifter. if your going to go that far you might as well replace both.